Items | Average Costs |
---|---|
Lawyer's Hourly Rate | $150 – $350 USD |
Form Filing Assistance | $250 – $2000 USD |
Permanent Residency Assistance | $1000 – $7500 USD |
USCIS or IRCC Fees | $400 – $800 USD |
EB-1 Green Card: Extraordinary Ability | |
---|---|
Labor Certification | No |
Costs | |
$700 | I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers |
$1,140 | I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status |
Application Type | Professional Fees |
---|---|
Consultations with Regulated Immigration Consultant | 20 min - $125.00 40 min - $250.00 |
About 5 in 10 readers had a lawyer help them apply for family-based adjustment of status.
If you’re not confident that you could navigate the adjustment-of-status process on your own, or your case involves any circumstances that might lead to a denial, it would be smart to speak with an experienced immigration lawyer—or even two or more attorneys before you decide to hire one.
An EB-1 green card is an employment-based petition for permanent residency in the U.S. The EB-1C was specifically designed for the most skilled and proficient business managers and executives. EB-1 green cards do not require PERM labor certification
U.S Citizens and legal permanent residents are allowed to petition for foreign relatives to come live in the U.S legally. There are two categories, namely Immediate Relative Petitions and Family Preference Petitions. The category of family members that are allowed to come to live in the U.S differs if you are a U.S citizen versus only being a green card holder.
Non-immigrant work visas are visas that are obtained for the purpose to work, invest, trade and do business in the U.S. Non-immigrant visas only apply for a limited time period and do not lead to permanent residency or citizenship.
E-visas are visas that are obtained under a treaty which the U.S signed with another country in order to promote investment, trade, and commerce. These visas are focussed on trade and investment. The E-2 visa specifically applies to investors from the listed E-2 countries.
Foreign nationals with extraordinary abilities in one of the below categories can obtain an O-1 non-immigrant visa. The purpose of the visa is for these individuals to engage in the activities in the U.S.
An Adjustment of Status is where someone currently living in the U.S under a non-immigrant visa becomes a beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition and apply for their status to be changed to permanent resident. The person or entity that filed your immigrant petition has to file an I-485 form.
AC21 is the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act. This act allows foreign nationals to change jobs in the U.S before they obtained their green card. So, if you are a foreign national and you applied for an Adjustment of Status, but you have not yet received your green card yet you can change jobs without it affecting your visa or Adjustment of Status application.
Attorney Fee: $2400 (does not include RFE responses, if applicable). Please note that the legal fee may be higher in certain complex cases. In any event, you’ll be provided a written quote before retaining our firm.
In every possible instance, we do our best to anticipate any potential issues and address them in advance. For that reason, it’s imperative that you be completely honest and transparent regarding the details of your case during the initial consultation.
SGM Law Group only offers free general consultations to certain individuals/businesses who are looking to retain a law firm for the following cases:
Note: If you come across a “notario” or immigration “consultant”, they are not lawyers and are not licensed to practice immigration law. Be very careful who you trust with your immigration needs. Navigating U.S. immigration is incredibly time consuming and complex.
If you are here unlawfully, an attorney can help you figure out if there is a path to legal status. If you’ve had any brush ups with the law, even if you weren’t convicted, you might be at risk for deportation. These are just a few scenarios in which the advice of an immigration lawyer is crucial.
The first step in a marriage-based green card process is for the petitioning spouse (citizen or permanent resident) to file an I-130, Petition for Alien Relative with the USCIS. After the I-130 approval, the next steps will depend on whether the beneficiary is staying in the U.S. or is living abroad.
However, you must be at least 18 years old and have a residence in the United States before you can sign the Affidavit of Support Form. The affidavit form is one of the mandatory items for a marriage-based green card application, so the minimum age is effectively 18.
After the approval of the I-130, the beneficiary will need to file an I-485, Petition to Adjust Status with the USCIS. The I-485 must be submitted with supporting evidence, which includes a birth certificate, proof of nationality, and proof of lawful entry to the U.S. (I-94 travel record).
The petition itself takes about six months to process, but you will not be able to get your green card until your priority date is current.
If the number of applicants exceeds the number of available visa numbers, then a backlog will build. Unfortunately, there is usually a backlog for each marriage-based green card category.
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The U.S. immigration system is widely regarded as "broken." The law itself is torturously difficult to understand. It takes lawyers years just to become comfortable with the ins and outs of various types of visas, green cards, and other benefits.
A few hours trying to fill out immigration forms, and you might just change your mind.